February 2017

Capacity Issues – who are you going to call?

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Capacity to grant and revoke a power of attorney (POA) for property and personal care and incapacity to manage property and personal care is defined by legislation in Ontario by the Substitute Decisions Act. However testamentary capacity (capacity to make a will) is not defined by provincial legislation. Assessors from the Ministry the Attorney General can provide formal assessments of incapacity to manage property and personal care that can result in….

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Capacity Law, Elder Law, Guardianship, Power of Attorney, Testamentary Capacity

Saying good bye publicly and privately to a remarkable woman.

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[caption id="attachment_4170" align="alignnone" width="300"] Vintage incandescent Edison type bulbs[/caption] “Yesterday, we lost a giant – an exceptionally creative scientist and engineer who was also a delightful human being. Millie Dresselhaus began life as the child of poor Polish immigrants in the Bronx; by the end, she was Institute Professor Emerita, the highest distinction awarded by the MIT faculty. A physicist, materials scientist and electrical engineer, she was known as the….

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In the News, U.S. Citizen, United States

Testamentary Letter of Wishes- Part 2

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In my last blog post of January 27, 2017, I discussed testamentary letters of wishes and some of the benefits and potential pitfalls of their use. For the purposes of the post, I limited the discussion to testamentary letters of wishes which are designed to convey a testator’s wishes and desires regarding the disposition of personal items after the testator’s death. This post continues the discussion. Another “pitfall” of letters….

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Estate Planning, Wills

I Know I Put it Somewhere.

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This Blog was written by: Holly Allardyce I once attended a networking event where we all had to name an aspect of our jobs that we enjoy. I volunteered that I liked knowing I had located all of a deceased person’s valuables. The perplexed facilitator asked if I was a professional burglar. I advised that I was a Trust Officer that when attending at a residence shortly after a client’s….

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Estate Administration, Uncategorized

Issue Estoppel – Stopping a Second Kick at the Can

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The discovery of holographic wills always send up red flags to estates litigators, especially when the holographic will is a dramatic departure from the prior distribution of the estate. While questions of fraud immediately come to mind, there may also be a limitations problem if the holographic will is found more than two years since a certificate of appointment of estate trustee was issued. Problems may also arise if this….

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Contested wills, Estate Administration and Probate Applications, Estate Litigation

Estate Distributions

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During the administration of an estate, taxable income can be generated in the form of interest, dividends, capital gains, etc. after all debts and specific bequests have been paid. The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) was asked if an estate could distribute the remaining taxable income to the residual beneficiaries. The CRA confirmed that the ability of an estate to distribute the remaining taxable income to the residual beneficiaries would depend on….

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Canada Revenue Agency, Estate Administration, Executors
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